Transcript 2009 conasta conference - Home

Re-navigating
HSC English
Deb McPherson, Jane Sherlock & Karen Yager
About the presenters
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Deb McPherson has taught English in NSW secondary schools for twenty-eight
years. She was the Senior Curriculum Officer, English, at the Board of Studies
from 2001-2002, and was the Manager of English for the NSW Department of
Education and Training from 2003-2006. She is the author of other Oxford
University Press titles Attitudes and Experiences and Passion and Persuasion.
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Jane Sherlock has been teaching English in NSW for over thirty years and is
currently Head Teacher of English at Kiama High on the south coast of NSW.
Jane has been senior HSC marker for over 20 years, and has presented at
numerous HSC study days across the state.
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Karen Yager is currently the Professional Learning and Leadership Coordinator
(SEO2) for the Northern Sydney Region DET. An experienced teacher of
English, Karen was most recently the head teacher of English at Richmond
River High School. Karen is a prominent member of the ETA, has presented
papers and workshops at numerous conferences, and has been a senior HSC
marker for nine years.
Oxford HSC English
In this session, the authors will introduce participants to a unique
textbook that:
 provides a ‘pathways approach’ that meets requirements for both
the HSC Standard and Advanced English courses
 frames students into how to approach the Area of Study, modules
and the carefully selected texts
 contains a comprehensive introduction for students to HSC English
 aims to engage students with a investment in premium production
and design values, illustrations and film stills.
All session participants will receive a complimentary copy of
Oxford HSC English upon release.
Using pathways to navigate the HSC
English jigsaw
A pathway is the
connection established
between the texts
selected from the
Prescriptions: Area of
Study, Electives and
Texts list and the BOS
“types of text”
requirements.
Text requirements for Standard English
• You are required to engage in the close study of at least
four types of prescribed text, one drawn from each of
the following categories:
– prose fiction
– drama
– poetry
– nonfiction or film or media or multimedia texts
• You are also expected to engage with a wide range of
additional related texts and textual forms
Text requirements for Advanced English
You are required to engage in the close study of at least five types of
prescribed text, one drawn from each of the following categories:
– Shakespearean drama
– prose fiction
– drama or film
– poetry
– nonfiction or media or multimedia texts
• You are also expected to engage with a wide range of additional
related texts and textual forms.
Juggling the pieces
of the puzzle
 As you sit down to plot your path
through these two components
you juggle the texts you want to
select with the textual
requirements of the course and
with the nature and interest of
your students
Our pathways
 focus on popular and exciting
texts
 Contain at least one Australian
composer
Our ‘pathways approach’ meets requirements for
the HSC Standard English course
Standard Pathway 1
Standard Pathway 2
Area of Study
The Crucible Arthur Miller (d)
Rainbow’s End Jane Harrison
(d)
Module A
The Penguin Banjo Paterson Collected Verse
A B Paterson (p)
Speeches
(nf)
Module B
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time War Poems and Others
Mark Haddon (pf)
Wilfred Owen (p)
Module C
Billy Elliot (f) directed by Stephen
Daldry
The story of Tom Brenan
J.C. Burke (pf)
Our ‘pathways approach’ meets requirements for
the HSC Advanced English course
Advanced
Pathway 1
Area of Study Romulus my Father
Raimond Gaita (nf)
Advanced
Pathway 2
Immigrant Chronicle
Peter Skrzynecki (p)
Module A
Frankenstein Mary Shelley (pf)
and Bladerunner directed by
Ridley Scott (f)
King Richard III William Shakespeare
(S) and Looking for Richard
directed by Al Pacino (f)
Module B
Hamlet
William Shakespeare (S)
In the Skin of a Lion
Michael Ondaatje (pf)
Module C
Birthday Letters
Ted Hughes (p)
The Fiftieth Gate
Mark Raphael Baker (nf)
Engaging students and optimising their chances of
success
• The text talks directly to the
students and provides a
balance of advice, information
and activity
• HSC English explained in
detail - both in-school and
external examination
• There is a focus on visual
literacy with full colour design,
film stills and illustrations
Asking students: What ICT do you access every
day? Do you:
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check your emails
text a message
download a television episode
listen to a podcast
read/view the news online
watch video clips on YouTube
update your Facebook entry
write a blog
contribute or edit a Wikipedia entry
Twitter
create your own avatar in Second Life
contribute a thread to a discussion on the
Boredofstudies website
play a game?
Framing students into how to approach the Area of
Study, modules and the texts
• Each section contains an
‘unpacking the rubric’ explanation
• the key concepts are highlighted
• Scaffolds are provided for possible
responses
Part 1 contains a comprehensive introduction to
the HSC
 Understanding HSC English
 Understanding language, forms,
features and structures of texts
 Understanding context, purpose
and audience
 Understanding characters, settings,
themes and values
 Responding to and composing texts
For example: Note-taking scaffold for analysis of a text
Questions
Considerations
Purpose: why has this text been
constructed?
to tell a story, to entertain, to inform, to record
history, to persuade or argue, to describe, to
teach, to express an emotion or feeling or idea,
to respond to a person, situation or event ,to
reflect. (refer to Ch1.3)
Audience: who has this text been
constructed for?
age group, gender, education level, cultural and
religious background, personality and interests,
biases and prejudices (refer to Ch1.3)
Context: when and where was this
text constructed? What do I bring
to this text?
personal, social, historical, cultural and
workplace considerations (refer to Ch1.3)
The scaffold continues to consider areas below
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Language form and features/ cinematography
Structure/plot of text
Form
Characterisation
Narrative
Themes
Values/valuing: What cultural or social assumptions (values
and beliefs responders are expected to share) are made in
this text? Is this text culturally and socially neutral? Has the
way this text is read changed over time?
In-depth coverage of the
Area of Study: Belonging
 The concepts
• Representation
• Perceptions
• Context
• Interrelationships
 Imaginative and
extended response
 Suggestions and a
scaffold
Meaning
Perceptions:
interplay of
recognition and
interpretation and
is influenced by
our preconceived
ideas, memories,
experiences and
senses
Meaning
Text
Meaning
Meaning
Composer
Meaning
Assumptions
about
belonging
Meaning
Context &
Perspectives:
personal,
cultural,
historical,
social
Meaning
Representation
of belonging
through
language
features and
ideas
Context &
Perspectives:
personal,
cultural,
historical,
social
Responder
Perceptions:
interplay of
recognition and
interpretation and
is influenced by
our preconceived
ideas, memories,
experiences and
senses
In-depth coverage of the
Area of Study: Belonging
 Writing exercises such as:
• A young child has just landed in Australia for the first time at Sydney’s
busy International Airport. She moves closer to her mother, reaching for
her hand feeling confused by the loud foreign voices. Describe what
she sees, hears, smells and feels in one to two paragraphs.
• A backpacker has been on the same flight as the young child. He has
been travelling around Europe for over a year. He quickens his pace
and lengthens his stride. The cacophony of familiar Aussie voices
makes him smile. Describe what he sees, hears, smells and feels in
one to two paragraphs.
 Extended responses and tips such as:
• The importance of developing and integrating a thesis or line of
argument
• ‘Texts for a variety of reasons can invite us to be part of their world or
make us feel disengaged and disconnected.’
HSC English (Standard)
The Crucible
“I am not sure what The
Crucible is telling people now,
but I know that its paranoid
center is still pumping out the
same darkly attractive
warning that it did in the
fifties.”
What we cover in
The Crucible
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The concepts
Background and context
The textual form
The ideas
Language features
Characterisation
Practice tasks and a possible
response
Textual form
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The Crucible is a modern tragedy of the common
person who chooses, after acknowledging his or
her flaws, to take a stand for what he or she
believes in rather than conform and belong.
The essence of drama is conflict reflecting not
belonging. Each act builds frenetically to a
crescendo:
Act I: “Abigail: I saw Goody Booth with the devil!”
Act II: “Aye, naked! And the wind, God’s icy wind,
will blow!”
Act III: “God is dead!” “burn together!”
Act IV: “The final drumroll crashes, then
heightens violently”
The language
• Miller’s stage directions provide detailed historical
background information, social commentary and an
analysis of the characters and their motives, delivered in
an informative and authoritative tone that establishes Miller
as a trusted and reliable narrator.
• Emotive word choice, high modality and repeated
exclamations to convey the conflict and represent the
increasing disunity and paranoia in the community.
• Forceful and confronting use of imagery such as ‘his eyes
were like coals’ and ‘his fingers claw my neck’ stress the
growing absence of any sense of communal belonging.
Characterisation: Abigail
• An independent, free thinker who
has become self-reliant, hardened
and opportunistic.
• She has suffered the insecurity of
being an orphan, belonging to no
family: “…I saw Indians smash my
dear parents’ heads on the pillow
next to mine…”
• Without the greed, ignorance and
righteousness of others could never
have divided the community.
The ideas
 Communal belonging can be restored by individuals with a
strong sense of integrity, loyalty and compassion.
 Rebecca Nurse, more than any other character, exemplifies
the attitude and values that are essential for a strong,
supportive community. From the beginning, she questions the
presence of evil and witchcraft, and begs for common sense to
prevail. She identifies the real cause of the hysteria and
echoes Miller’s sentiments that it is our flaws that divide a
community: “Let us rather blame ourselves…” (Act I, p. 33).
Her death shocks other members of the Salem community,
such as Proctor and Giles, to challenge the actions of the girls
and the court.
HSC English (Advanced)
Area of Study: Romulus, My Father by Raimond Gaita
(nf)
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Features of the chapter:
Unpacking the Rubric: the key concepts
Background and context of Gaita
Social and Historical Context of Romulus, My Father
Textual Form and Structure
Ideas of Belonging.
What we cover on
Romulus, My Father
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The Idea of Belonging to a new world
A newfound sense of family
Setting
Characters
Language
Selecting and Integrating Related Texts
Practice Assessment Tasks
Romulus,My Father
as a memoir
Romulus, My Father is a memoir written by Raimond Gaita in 1998. Gaita tells
the story of his father, Romulus Gaita, who migrated from Germany to
Melbourne in April 1950 with his wife, Christina and young son Raimond.
The memoir explores the difficulties his father encountered in trying to establish
himself amidst the conservative and narrow attitudes of 1950s Australian society.
These attitudes were particularly prevalent in rural communities like those in
north-eastern Victoria where the Gaita family were relocated as part of the
assisted migrant scheme. The memoir examines many of the difficulties
confronting Gaita’s father as a newcomer to Australia. Romulus, My Father is a
moving portrayal of a family in crisis and a raw exposure of the fragility and
vulnerability of the human psyche. Also, in this memoir the Australian landscape
is evoked with detail and insight so that it becomes a powerful metaphor for
many of the elements of belonging, identity and alienation.
Gaita’s Use of language is characterised by:
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Concrete description
Respect and reverence for the landscape
His tone is understated; style direct and simple
Humour to underlay pathos and tragedy
Extract from the novel analysed and annotated
with language features and links made with the
concept of belonging
Linking landscape
to concept
Gaita uses the landscape to reflect the feelings
and attitudes of the characters. It is as if their
isolation and alienation are reinforced by the
stark, barren landscape. This is evident in
chapter three when Gaita recounts a time
when his mother was brought by taxi from
Maldon to Frogmore.
He first sees her “when she
was two hundred metres or
so from the house, alone,
small, frail, walking with an
uncertain gait and
distracted air. In that vast
landscape with only crude
wire fences and a rough
track to mark a human
impression on it she
appeared forsaken.” p.32.
Using the landscape as a stimulus for imaginative writing:
Section II
Select one of the following quotations from the text.
Use this quote as a central idea in your own piece of
imaginative writing that explores how landscape shapes our
sense of belonging or of not belonging. Recall how Gaita uses
language in his descriptions of the landscape and try to use
some of his techniques in your own writing.
‘He longed for the generous and soft European foliage’ (p.14)
‘We walked in the hills and often swam in the river’ (p.19)
‘The landscape seemed to have a special beauty’ (p.61)
‘The hills looked as old as the earth’ (p123)
Advanced: Module A: Comparative Study of Texts
& Contexts – Elective 2: Texts in Time
Connections framed through:
• Context: 1816 England - societal
transformation with an industrial revolution
and a working class society demanding to
be heard; 1982 US - threat of acid rain and
global warming, economic rationalism and
unemployment
• Creators: Victor Frankenstein and Eldon
Tyrell
• Creations: The monster and the replicants
• Values: compassion, love, courage and
integrity
The creators
• Victor Frankenstein and Eldon
Tyrell lack insight, humility and
empathy. They are egocentric
and indifferent to the needs and
feelings of their creations.
• Tyrell is not horrified by his
creations like Frankenstein;
rather he delights in his own
handiwork. Yet, his treatment of
them is as cruel as
Frankenstein’s rejection of his
monster.
The creations
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In Frankenstein and Blade Runner, humanity desires
to test the limits of technology and imagination to
create life without considering the consequences.
In Frankenstein, the monster is represented
sympathetically as being intelligent and sensitive, but
his experiences with humanity transform him into a
dark creature.
In Blade Runner, the opposite occurs as when we first
meet the replicants they are cast in the role of villain,
yet as the narrative unfolds we develop empathy for
their plight.
Batty, in Blade Runner, begins as a fallen angel and
rises symbolically on his death as a dove to heaven,
but Frankenstein’s monster, who emerges as Adam,
becomes the fallen angel hell-bent on revenge and
retribution.
The assessment tasks and
a possible approach
• You are in a bar in China Town in Los Angeles, 2019. You
overhear a conversation between Frankenstein’s monster and Roy
Batty. You hear them exchange their stories, discuss their attitudes
towards their creators, and compare their values and experiences.
• “Scotch without the rocks, Sam.” Outside the rain belted out its all
too familiar dissonant rhythm on the city of fallen angels. Inside, a
cold blue light chilled me to the core despite the fleeting warmth of
the scotch, and cast thin eerie shadows on the faces of the
regulars in the bar. A giant of a man sat heavily down on the bar
stool between me and the guy whose blue eyes shone strangely. A
patchwork of red scars perverted his face into a repulsive visage.
My instinct was to get the hell out of there, but nothing much
happened in this place, so I stayed.
Standard:
Module C: Into the World
The Story of Tom Brennan
This novel is an excellent choice
for Standard students in what it
says and the accessible and
engaging way the story is told.
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The novel allows for some valuable
class discussion on this stage of
their lives:
How do you cope with change?
Are you excited about what you are
going to be doing after the HSC?
Are you daunted by the next six
months?
What path will your life take after the
HSC?
What stresses you most about this
year?
What risks do you take?
How resilient are you?
Relevance of the novel to adolescents
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The Story of Tom Brennan is the prescribed
text for Module C. It is a great choice for this
Module: it is an engaging, pacey story which
contains many issues of relevance and
interest to what is happening in their own
lives: drinking, driving, car accidents,
speeding, risk taking, families, schools,
mates, grandparents, falling in love, sex,
football and trying to cope with too much
pressure. The novel is ideal for exploring
the key elements of this Module and will
give students ideas for selecting their own
related texts to supplement their knowledge
and understanding of the Module.
What our chapter covers on
The Story of Tom Brennan
• Unpacking the Rubric: the key concept s of Module C and the
importance of “context” in this study as well as the textual features
of the novel and related texts.
• Background and Context of Jane Burke
• Textual Form and Structure: use of flashback, narrative voice,
language and style
• Setting
• Ideas and Issues
• Selecting and integrating related texts including focus on RTA antispeeding campaign
• Practice assessment tasks
The character of Tom as a vehicle for the novel’s
issues
Part of the recovery process for Tom is
that he regains some balance in his life
and he becomes part of a wider social
group as he ventures back into the
world which not only gives him support
but also gives him a different focus.
Tom discovers more about himself, his
attitudes and values as he works
towards recovery, and makes
important realisations about his needs
to take responsibility for himself and
be pro-active.
Tom takes on new activities and
challenges which give his life some
purpose and it allows him to move into
the world and into the future.
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Some examples of the challenges
Tom takes on include:
Creating a scrapbook for Daniel
Running
Realisation that some people need to
share their problems like Kylie did in
her speech and that sometimes when
it is public it is easier.
Training for the Everest trek
Training for football
Routine and rigour of the football
camp
Playing Rugby Union for Bennies
Mateship in the football team
The values of winning vs. enjoying
playing the game
Related texts for this novel
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Visit the RTA website:
www.rta.nsw.gov and view the
sections related to the anti-speeding
campaigns including the statistics on
adolescent accident rates.
Writing task: write a letter to the
editor of your local newspaper. The
letter is in response to a community
debate about the increasing number
of young male victims of motor
vehicle accidents. Explain how the
RTA anti-speeding campaign as
influenced your ideas and
understanding about speeding.
In your letter you should focus on
the specific form of the campaign
which has most impacted in you.
e.g. the television commercials or
the billboard or the website and
what specific textual features have
most shaped your response to this
issue.
Responding to Related Texts
Student task:
• 1. a) Working with a partner, access
the RTA website and click on the
link for their anti-speeding
campaign. What insights does this
website give you to the world of
adolescent risk taking and the
dangers associated with speeding
and drink driving?
• b) List the techniques used by the
designers of the site which are used
to inform and persuade their
audience about the issues explored.
• Join with two other pairs and
share your findings.
• d) Write a response of one
page in length on the
following question:
• What aspects of the Module
Into the World are dealt with
in this website? What
techniques are used to
represent these issues?
Responding to related texts
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Choose three different texts aimed at your demographic which explore some of
the challenges associated with growing up. For example, a business card
distributed by NSW Health and the State Library of NSW as part of their drug info
campaign.
List the textual form of your three texts, for example, a brochure or billboard or
fridge magnet.
Beside each textual form list five textual features used by the composer to inform
or persuade its target audience.
Select one of the texts and discuss how the composer has used the textual
features to shape your response to the text. You will need to consider the purpose
and intention of the composer and analyse the different textual features which
shape your response. This is the type of analysis that you will be expected to
apply to your novel and a variety of texts of your own choice in this elective.
In your world, which texts have influenced you and shaped your attitudes and
ideas?
Oxford HSC English
Oxford HSC English
ISBN: 9780195568202
Price: $49.95
Available: October 1
2009